Sweepstake

So I was never going to be a winner. That was clear from the start. I had to pick early since I was party to hatching the plot to build some team spirit (a bit like flogging a dead horse, but that doesn't dampen our resolve). And then the woman with responsibility for the picking bag and fairness decided that under no circumstances would anyone be able to have another dip, either throwing back their first pick or for an additional £1. I dipped in deep, shaking the bag up, tossing the tiny strips of folded up paper around, until I felt that I had shuffled the pack, as it were. I felt lucky. And then I drew out Togo. Like I said. I was never going to be a winner. I set my hopes on a flurry of extraordinary results, playing out of their skins (like the Cameroons last time, or was that the time before last?)

Several days later, the woman responsible for picking took pity on me, and in an attempt to help me find some optimism from the crushing world that was work that week, she let me pick another, having totally exhausted all other staff. There were two left in the bag but she wouldn't let me see what had already gone. I crossed my fingers and picked out Croatia.

Like I said, I was never going to win. I thought with a lot, and I mean a lot, of luck I would have one team go through to the next round... I think I might be in with a chance of winning the worst team £2 award, so things aren't that bad.